Suture passing instrument

Abstract

A suture passing instrument having a body housing a shape-memory wire, a jaw, a hand mechanism for articulating the jaw relative to a tip, an actuator, and a pusher for advancing the wire through the body and the tip. By actuating the hand mechanism, a surgeon may seize and maintain tissue with the jaw and the tip and, using the pusher, push a suture through the tissue.

1. A suture passing instrument, comprising:
 an elongated tubular member having a proximal end and a distal end, the tubular member comprising a first axial throughbore and a second axial throughbore; 
 a wire received in the first axial throughbore of the elongated tubular member, the wire being formed of a shape-memory material and having a distal end formed, so that, as the distal end of the wire passes through a linear throughbore it assumes a straight shape, whereas, in a free state, the distal end of the wire has an arcuate shape; 
 a tip provided at the distal end of the tubular member and integral with the tubular member, the tip including at least one axial bore in communication with the first axial throughbore of the tubular member for receiving the wire, the tip further comprising a slot formed within a body of the tip, the slot having a configuration for receiving a strand of suture and for positioning the strand of suture in the path of the wire, such that, as the wire is advanced through the axial bore of the tip and exits distally into the slot, the suture is engaged by a central portion of the most distal end of the wire, and the distal end of the wire, with the engaged suture, regains its arcuate shape to facilitate transverse stitching of tissue; 
 a jaw pivotable with respect to the tip, the jaw comprising a distal opening aligned with the axial bore of the tip for receiving the wire therein, the distal opening of the jaw being an open slot extending to a most distal end of the jaw; and 
 a pusher provided at the proximal end of the tubular member, a proximal end of the wire being coupled to the pusher such that the pusher can be used to advance and retract the distal end of the wire from the tip. 
 
     
     
       2. The suture passing instrument of  claim 1 , wherein the slot is arcuate. 
     
     
       3. The suture passing instrument of  claim 1 , wherein the jaw further comprises a plurality of teeth for gripping tissue. 
     
     
       4. The suture passing instrument of  claim 1 , wherein the wire is superelastic. 
     
     
       5. The suture passing instrument of  claim 4 , wherein the wire is a nitinol wire.